Something stylish underfoot for scorched summer feet

People were encouraged to get barefoot and wiggle their toes into the hand-tufted carpets at Thursday showcase of Tai Ping's new outdoor collection at The Box. The new series from Hong Kong's own luxury carpet company is intended as a solution to the problem of having to tiptoe across blistering outdoor decks in the summer.

The idea for their first outdoor line came from requests by yacht owners, said managing director Olivier Arzel. They were tired of scorching their feet on decks whenever temperatures rose. But creating a product that could withstand the outdoor elements presented some exceptional challenges.

Tai Ping used synthetic materials and the result is a variety of attractive arabesque and other geometrical patterns in colours like grey, blue, maroon, and taupe. The carpets come with a technical list of instructions on proper care. They are water and fungus-resistant, flame-retardant, and UV-proof, so colours won't fade under the sun's rays.

With these carpets available to liven up terraces and poolside decks, looks like there's no reason that the outside of a house can't be as stylish as the inside. 'We're very happy to be able to dress the outside of the house as we did the inside,' Arzel said. 'It's always nice when you're able to please the dream of your customers.'